I heard (from a CCPA spokesperson) that Martin said he agreed with much in the alternative budget but that "the political pressure" was for tax cuts and paying down the debt. Of course, Martin is famous for making sympathetic, ineffectual noises while doing what the Finance Ministry mandarins tell him to. Paul Phillips wrote, >Sam, you asked in your previous post if John Loxley, Cho!ses and >the CCPA put out an alternative budget this year. The answer is >yes and they did meet with martin prior to his issuing of the budget >but, as usual, he paid little attention to the AFT. The AFT was >released at press conferences across Canada, including >Vancouver, two or three weeks before Martin's fiasco. >Paul >Paul Phillips, >Economics, >University of Manitoba > >Sam wrote: >> I forgot to add that the Finance minister will _not_ be making the usual >> post-budget bum-sniffing tour of Wall Street to ensure Moody's and >> Salomon Bros. that everything is eh-o.k. As already noted on the list, >> the gov't has increased CPP premiums and has been covering the budget >> deficit using the surplus resulting from the massive cuts in >> unemployment insurance eligibility. >> >> SP regards, Tom Walker
